Dancers
by Lizzy Rebel
Summary: [oneshot, DS] They were dancers both of them, Danny and Sam, and no matter how hard he tried he knew he would not be able to cut in on their waltz


Disclaimer: I do not own _Danny Phantom_ in anyway.

(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)

**{{Dancers}}**

_"Shake off your heavy trance_

_And leap into a dance_

_Such as no mortals use to tread_

_Fit only for Apollo_

_To play to, for the moon to lead_

_And all the stars to follow"_

-Francis Beaumont

They were dancers both of them, Danny and Sam, and no matter how hard he tried he knew he would not be able to cut in on their waltz.

And it wasn't always like that.

He didn't know when it had changed. When it had gone from Danny, Sam, and Tucker, the trio of friends, to Danny and Sam, the perfect couple, and Tucker, the third wheel. When had he blinked and missed all of those changes?

It must have been in that last year of middle school. That year when he was finally coming to terms with the fact that he was in love with his best friend. That year he had admitted to himself that he was in love with Sam, rebel girl extraordinaire.

That had been the year when he had seen Sam look at Danny in a way he had never seen her look at anyone before. A look that made his palms damp and his face red with new strange emotions that his body rejected.

After that look he couldn't tell Sam that he loved her. No, that would be cruel and selfish. He may have been selfish but he wasn't cruel.

Instead, he watched Sam tiptoe around Danny. It was her own secret dance. The only clue that she was doing a solo dance was the slight tinge to her cheeks whenever Danny was near her. Tucker watched her watch Danny and thought she was the must beautiful creature he had ever seen.

When she agonized over Danny's blindness to her emotions, he agonized her blindness to his. He longed to reach out and touch her hair, touch that black silk, and say she should give him a chance. That he loved her more then Danny ever could.

And he would have. He had been close to finally getting the courage to tell Sam she should be with him, not Danny. He was finally ready to let her know about his feelings, about his love.

But then Danny looked back.

Yet again he found himself hanging in the background and letting Danny and Sam continue their dance around each other. But now, instead of it being a solo dance, it was a tango. The Danny and Sam Tango, he had always thought of it.

The secret looks the one sent the other, the sighs when they were around each other. They made him ache for that feeling. But this dance, he knew, was one he mustn't ever intrude on. For then he would ruin his friendship with them both. He would take away Danny's love and force Sam to choose between him and Danny.

Or maybe he never dared to speak up because he knew what the outcome would be. He would be left behind in the dust while Sam ran into Danny's open arms. As much as he wanted both of his friends to be happy, he could not stand the thought of himself being the final push towards their relationship. He would not.

He was content to watch them, wait silently for his turn. He had sworn to himself a long time ago that he would only give Danny one shot with Sam. If he screwed it up with her then it was his turn.

But, as he had known, his turn never came. Soon he noticed that way Danny and Sam acted together. The whispers, the brush of hands, the secret glances. Once again his friends had moved in a new direction without telling him. Now they were lovers.

Valiantly, he tried to keep up. To be there if Sam fell. But she never did. Danny was always there with one hand on her waist and wrist, gently guiding her across the floor in their own special waltz.

It was hard to watch Sam and Danny dance together, but he would if he had to. He would see Sam happy, even if it wasn't with him.

And still, in the selfish sense, he waited. He was always waiting for his turn to dance with Sam. To hold her hand and touch her waist and every other supple curve of her body like Danny could ever day of his lucky life.

That day would never come, he knew. The dance of Danny and Sam was a perfect one. One that could not be stopped. It would go one for the rest of their lives. The perfect dance for the perfect couple.

When they got married, he would stand besides his best friend as best man, imaging Sam was walking towards him and not the groom. And when they had their firstborn and named him godfather he would pretend the child was his and the woman he loved. He would watch them grow old together, alone and aching.

For they were dances, Danny and his Sam. And he loved Sam enough to stand by and watch her be with another man. Danny made her happy and in turn he was happy for her. He was proud to stand on the sidelines and watch them dance.

A dance he knew he could never cut in on.

(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)(&)

**Word Count:** 902

**Time:** fifteen minutes

**Beta**: authoress

**Couples:** Danny/Sam, one-sided Tucker/Sam

**Genre:** Angst/Romance

**Status:** one-shot (complete)

**Author:** Lizzy Rebel

**Characters/Style:** Tucker angst fic.

**Notes:** nothing really special. Had the idea, had to write it. Enjoy, probably won't see another _Danny Phantom_ piece from me.


End file.
